Bottle-seal.



No. 793.624. PATENTED JUNE 27, 1905-,

E. BURKINS.

BOTTLE SEAL.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 15. 1904. RENEWED MAY 6, 1905.

NITED I STATES Patented June 27, 1905.

PATENT FFICE.

EUGENE BURKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO EDGAR EUGENE BRYANT, OF FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS.

BOTTLE-SEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 793,624, dated June 27, 1905.

Application filed February 15, 1904. Renewed May 5, 1905. Serial No. 259,028.

To (all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE BURKINS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Seals, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation to non-refillable bottles, and has for its object the provision of novel means whereby if the bottle be opened after having been originally filled the integrity of the bottle as an original package will be destroyed, thus preventing its fraudulent reuse and indicating to the purchaser that the bottle has been refilled.

In carrying out my invention I provide a bottle and a cap of glass, metal, composition, or other suitable material not too hard to break adapted to be fitted over the top of and securely fastened to the neck of the bottle and of such form and construction that in order to remove the cork from the bottle the cap must be broken off, a portion thereof remaining immovably fixed on the neck of the bottle and serving to show at a glance that the bottle has been opened after having been once filled.

My invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated my improvements, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a bottle with my improved cap in position thereon. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with the upper portion of the cap broken off. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the cap looking at the rear from a point at right angles to the point of view of Fig. 1. Fig. 4c is a vertical sectional view of a modilied form of cap; and Fig. 5 is a vertical sectionalview showing a cap of substantially the same charactor as that shown in Fig. 1, but showing a modified form of securing the cap in position upon the neck of a bottle.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A designates the neck of a bottle to which is fitted a stopper B, which may be a cork or any other suitable device for closing the mouth of the bottle. The neck A has formed on its outside, 5 below the top or mouth thereof, an integral screw-thread C, and a cap D, which carries an integral collar E, is fitted over the neck A of the bottle, the collar E of the cap being screwthreaded interiorly to conform to the screwthread upon the outside of the neck. The collar E of the cap is united to the body thereof by integral legs F F, which are disposed on opposite sides of the cap. These integral legs F F may diminish in size gradually from the 6 body portion or crown of the cap to the collar E, as shown in Fig. 3, or they may be of any desired shape, so that they integrally connect the crown or body portion of the cap with its collar E and have their narrowest or weakest parts at their points of juncture or connection with the collar E. If desired, a groove may be made in or around each leg at the point of its juncture with the collar, so as to increase the weakness at that point. The collar E of the cap screws down upon the threaded exterior of the neck A of the bottle and is intended to remain in fixed position thereupon, and in order to retain it in position a layer of cement G is inter posed between the thread on the neck and the thread on the inside of the collar, so that when the cap is screwed down upon the neck and the cement is allowed to dry it will be impossible to unscrew the cap from the bottle.

The parts being constructed and arranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 are operated in the following manner: The cap having been screwed upon the bottle after the same has been filled and the cork B has been inserted, 5 the cement G, which is interposed between the threads of the screw-threaded joint, will prevent the cap from being removed, and in order to withdraw the cork it will be necessary to break the cap, which of course will 9 yield at the weakest point that is, at the narrowest portion of the legs F F. The breaking of the cap can be effected by striking it with or upon a hard substance, or, if

the legs F F are weak enough, by striking the crown of the cap with the hand or grasping it between the thumb and fingers and snapping the legs by a movement at right angles to the legs. After the upper part of the cap has been broken 05 the collar'E and a portion of the legs F will remain upon the neck of the bottle and will indicate that the bottle has been opened and prevent the bottle from being used again as an original package, the integrity of the same as a whole, considering the cap as an essential portion of the bottle, having been destroyed by breaking off the cap.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings I have illustrated a modified construction wherein but a single leg F is employed instead of the two legs shown in Fig. 3, and it will be readily under stood than any suitable number of legs may be employed so long as suflicient space is left between the same to permit the cap being readily broken off from the collar in the manner before described.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings I have shown a modification in which the neck of the bottle is formed with an annular rib tapering outwardly slightly from its upper to its lower edge, and the collar E of the cap is interiorly shaped to conform to this tapering rib H. The collar E is secured upon the rib H by a layer of strong cement G, so that it cannot be detached therefrom, the operation of the modified form shown in Fig. 5 in all respects being similar -to that of the device shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Before the cap D is placed over the cork B the latter may be covered with tin-foil or any other appropriate material or sealed in any desired manner.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a bottle formed with an engaging surface on its neck, with a cap therefor consisting of a head and a collar located at a considerable distance below said head, a pair of integral legs of considerable width at their juncture with said head, and tapering downwardly to a narrow width at their juncture with said collar, the top of said collar being located below the upper edge of the bottle-neck, the under face of said cap being located at a distance above the said upper edge of the bottle-neck, said collar being cemented to said engaging surface of the neck.

2. In combination with a bottle having its neck adjacent the top thereof formed with threads, a cap consisting of a head and a collar spaced therefrom and formed on its interior with threads to be received over said bottle-neck threads, legs connecting said head and collar, the top of said collar being located below the upper edge of the bottle-neck and being cemented thereto, the under face of the head extending above the upper edge of the bottle-neck to accommodate any protrusion of the cork or stopper.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EUGENE BURKINS. lVitnesses:

F. E. GAITHER, K. H. BUTLER. 

